63% Consider Socialism A Threat To America’s Founding Ideals

Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters consider Socialism a threat to America’s founding ideals of freedom, equality, and self-governance. A ScottRasmussen.com national survey found that 58% say the same about Populism. Capitalism is seen as a threat to those ideals by 42% while 29% believe Free Markets are such a threat.

Socialism is considered a threat to America’s founding ideals by 80% of Republicans and 62% of Independents. However, Democrats are evenly divided: 49% see it as a threat while 51% do not.

Populism is considered a threat by 66% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats, and 52% of Independents (see crosstab results).

The survey also found that just 28% view Socialism primarily an economic ideology while 72% believe it is more concerned with other societal issues. The numbers are virtually the same for Populism (29%/71%).

However, 70% view both Capitalism and Free Markets as primarily economic systems.

The number viewing Socialism as a threat is up three points since February. The perception of a threat is also up slightly for both Capitalism and Populism. However, there was no change on the question of Free Markets.

Support for the term Socialism has increased in the United States recently. However, the meaning of that term has little to do with what Socialism has meant historically. And, growing support for the term Socialism does not mean support for policies advocated by elected politicians such as Senator Bernie Sanders or Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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The national survey of 1,002 Registered Voters was conducted May 7-8, 2019 by ScottRasmussen.com and HarrisX, a polling company specializing in online surveys (see Methodology). It has a 3.1 percentage point Margin of Error with a 95% level of confidence.